10 Days and 10 Minutes
by fallingauthor
Summary: It took her 10 days... 10 days to realize she didn't want to lose him, the person who showed her the world and the beauty of second chances, to one Pansy Parkinson. But when she went after him...he had left exactly 10 minutes ago leaving her a note with only 10 words.
1. The Invitation Card

**10 DAYS TO FIGHT FOR HIM, 10 MINUTES TO LOSE HIM**

A/N: I came with up with another pathetic idea. Well...read and see how pathetic it is. Well, to tell you honestly, I have formulated a plan in my head. Nothing evil :D So it goes like this: Since I finished a story with a number '12' as the most significant number (The Legend of the 12 Letters, I'm inviting you to check it out if you haven't read it), I planned on writing stories with 11, 10, 9...so on. My number eleven story is entitled 11:11 but have only finished the first chapter of it. You know, the wish? I'm still working on it. So, anyway, here's the story.

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP and even if I will finish thousands and thousands of Dramione fanfics, I still wouldn't have the title.**

**Summary: It took her 10 days... 10 long days to realize she didn't want to lose him, the person who showed her the world, to one Pansy Parkinson. But when she went after him, he had left exactly 10 minutes ago.**

**CHAPTER ONE: THE INVITATION CARD**

_"If I lay here,_  
_If I just lay here,_  
_Would you lie with me And just forget the world...?_  
_Forget what we're told Before we get too old._  
_Show me a garden,_  
_That's bursting into life..._  
_Let's waste time Chasing cars Around around heads..."_

- start -

It was 6:30 in the evening when Hermione Granger decided to go to the Conference Room in Number 12 Grimmauld Place, the Order's Headquarters and the place she currently called her 'home'. Well, it had actually been her home for 2 years now. Since she left Hogwarts to engage herself to a more mature and realistic world (which meant a world with Voldemort in it and fighting him for dear life), she resided in Harry's late godfather's family home, along with few other members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Harry lived in Grimmauld Place since it was rightfully his. His godfather, Sirius Black, left the huge house in his name. The Weasleys didn't officially transfer residency, although, most of the time they were all there (Mr. & Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Ron, Fred & George, Bill and his wife Fleur, Percy and even Charlie). They rarely went back to the burrow; only to get some important possesions and then they were back to the Headquarters again. Luna Lovegood, an old friend of Hermione, Harry, and Ron at school, stayed with them in Grimmauld Place, too. When his father died during the bloody war, and their little home was devastated, she had nowhere to live and nobody to live with. So, Harry offered her to live with them, since she, then, also became a member of the Order.

But, one person was unexpectedly staying with them under one roof. He was their arch nemesis. He made the trio's lives worst as possible when they were yet at school, learning Magic. Truthfully, they all predicted he was going to be a Death Eater just like his father. They thought he was going to serve the Master his father worshiped until the day he died (during the war). But then, the turn of events surprised them all. One night, he came to his enemy's lair without anything to defend himself, not even his wand, to offer them something of his.

And that something was his loyalty.

He vowed to give all of himself to the Order. He said he was sick of being evil. Said he couldn't stomach his father's Master anymore. Said he was a man of many things...

But he would never wish to be a murderer of innocent people.

Of course, nobody believed him at first. How could they possibly just hug him welcome after everything he'd done in the past? Sure, nothing was near to murder. But it was still something dark...something only people from the dark side could even think of doing. He used to follow orders from the Darkest Wizard of All Times.

But then, he proved where his loyalty lied when he selflessly saved Harry's life. The heroic deed almost stole his own life away from him. He was barely an inch to death. And when he opened his eyes again, he was welcomed without doubts anymore.

He did an excellent job; working as an insider for the Order. He gave them the correct details, told them the right instructions and fought for their side during the war.

After the war, he lost both his parents. Lucius Malfoy was killed, and his mother's fate seemed to meet her husband's as well. He was disappointed, mostly at his father. He was not very sad for losing him, he wasn't much of a father back when he was younger. However, it was always a different story when it came to his mother. He was ruined when she died. She was not evil. She was only forced to murder because she loved her husband with all her heart.

He did not want to go to the Manor again. It held so many memories. So many unwanted memories. So, he was offered a room in the Headquarters by Harry. They weren't close still, but they were companions now. He accepted the help and so he stayed with them all. Them, which included Luna, whom he claimed he couldn't stand being in a talking lane with; Remus, whom he loathed as a Professor before; Mr. Weasley, whom he detested for falling in deep love with everything Muggle; Fred and George, whom he despised for being so bloody brilliant for creating so many appealing joke items, yet passing only 3 subjects at school; Ginny, whom he disfavored for being so damn attractive that his friend, Blaise Zabini, found himself fancying her one day; Mrs. Weasley, whom he got annoyed with most of the time for having such a loud mouth; and most especially, THEM. Harry, Ron and Hermione, herself, whom he extremely disliked for having all the attentions he had wanted for himself.

But that was all in the past. He didn't hate them superlatively, anymore. Not much.

They also get visits from other members of the Order for the constant report-meetings. After the war, one year ago, when the Dark Lord fell to Harry Potter, some Death Eaters escaped and the Ministry of Magic appointed the Order to search for the remaining Death Eaters still roaming free around. The members gathered themselves at least 3 times a week to check for some improvements on their mission.

But now, she wasn't sure the meeting she was summoned for had anything to do about Death Eaters at all. She didn't know what made her feel and think that way...but she really had bad feelings about it.

She opened the door and found the members summoned, already there, settled in their own chairs. Then suddenly, her eyes met Malfoy's in a hard and meaningful stare. They held their gazes for a moment before Harry broke it up by speaking.

"Hermione, good, you're here already." Her best friend smiled at her. She closed the door behind her and walked to her seat, between Harry and Luna. "We've been waiting for you. Malfoy refuses to tell us what he wants to say unless you arrive here."

Hermione glanced at Malfoy in that statement. He was not looking back at her, instead, his eyes were fixed on the table. As if he was contemplating on something very carefully. After a minute or two, he finally raised his head and looked around him. He cleared his throat before going on.

"So, uh, I'm sorry I have disturbed you all." he started apologizing. "I know I called you in such a short notice. Well, I've actually been dying to tell you this certain detail but I've only found the will to speak of it just recently." he explained, wandering his eyes to each member, but suspiciously avoiding her's, Hermione's gaze.

"What is it, Draco?" Remus asked. He leaned forward on the table to show Malfoy he was interested to what he was about to inform them.

Malfoy looked at him, "Lupin, it's nothing about Death Eaters, really." he explained, trying to recede everyone's expectations, or those who were expecting news about the mission.

Hermione creased her forehead, 'I knew it...' she thought.

Lupin and several members frowned in confusion. Then, Ginny raised her hand and spoke. "If this meeting isn't about the Death Eaters or the Order, then why did you summon us?"

"Am I to understand that I was robbed from my dinner for one of your boredom pranks, Malfoy?" Ron asked him, annoyed.

Malfoy rolled his eyes at him. "I'm so sorry for taking you away from all the food, Weasley. But I'm sure if you leave them for a couple of minutes, they won't run away." he snapped in equal annoyance. "Oh, and this is not a boredom prank. I seriously want to tell you something but if you aren't in the mood to listen to me, then you can freely go." he pointed at the door.

Ron reddened in mixed irritation and embarrassment. He snorted before looking away, but he stayed in the room. Malfoy lowered his finger and checked his audiences again. They were all looking at him, waiting for him to spill whatever was the thing he had been dying to say to them to even call for a meeting in desperation.

"So, what's this really about, Draco?" Harry asked. He already used Malfoy's first name as a sign of his continuous showing of gratitude for saving his ass once. But Malfoy didn't call anyone of them by their first names. He still stuck to the last name basis.

Malfoy inhaled and exhaled before looking around again, but still failing to meet Hermione's eye. She had been secretly annoyed at his behavior. Why avoid looking at her? It was like he was not only a few feet away from her.

But she knew what triggered his action. They actually had a big, super misunderstanding months ago and since then, he started distancing from her. It didn't bother her at first, since he couldn't completely avoid her when they were on but one place, 24 hours a day. She was also mad at him, so she was not talking to him. But then, weeks later, he started going out of Grimmauld Place. She wondered where he went everytime, but she never asked anyone for details. But then, one day, she couldn't hide the curiosity and the very slight worry she felt. So, she asked Mr. Weasley and Lupin if they had any idea where he would go to when he left.

"No, we didn't give him special missions, Hermione." Lupin shook his head. "Actually, I'm not sure where he's going every time he leaves, but he made it sure that he was loyal to us. He said, he was meeting some old friend and we should not worry. That friend of his was not a Death Eater."

"Actually," Mr. Weasley spoke. Hermione and Lupin turned to him. He continued, "I strongly believe he's meeting a girl."

Hermione was shocked. "_A girl_?" she echoed indignantly.

Mr. Weasley nodded. "I know a woman's scent when I smell one. He came home one night, carrying this girly, flowery aroma. And well, I noticed some nail scratches on his back neck, and I can only be sure those are female-made scratches." He shrugged. "Maybe, the boy's only being naughty...he's a teenager after all. And single, on top of that." Mr. Weasley grinned.

But Hermione was **livid**.

Her thoughts were disturbed when he cleared his throat once again. She stared at him hard, hypnotizing him to look at her. But her attempts clearly all failed.

"What I want to say is that..." he paused again and took a deep breath. He examined his surroundings again, finding them all looking up at him. "Well, maybe none of you noticed that I left Grimmauld Place often."

Hermione snorted. Several heads snapped at her direction but Malfoy ignored her and spoke again. "Every time I leave, I meet this certain person."

Hermione's anger was starting to build up again, though she kept on convincing herself that she was still oblivious to the reason why.

"Who?" Fred and George asked together, genuinely interested. Anyone could tell they were thinking of something mischievous by the looks on their faces.

"An old friend..." Draco replied.

"Do we know him?" Harry asked.

He nodded, "Absolutely." he added, "And it's 'her', actually."

Hermione glared at him.

"Your girlfriend?" Fred mused.

"Well..." Draco trailed off. He, then, finally looked at Hermione and met her death glare. He looked straight into her eyes and answered, "Yes, my girlfriend." he said, softly.

The anger swelling in Hermione's chest was gone. To be replaced by something more powerful. More intense. More uncontrollable. More painful.

"Now, am I to understand that you robbed me off my dinner table to tell me you have a girlfriend?" Ron asked in annoyance again.

Malfoy ignored his tone this time. He didn't leave Hermione's eyes when he opened his mouth again. "To be honest, I called for this meeting to hand you all something."

Hermione's forehead creased. He tore his eyes away and reached inside his coat. When he pulled his hands out, he was already clutching numbers of green and silver envelopes.

They all eyed the envelopes in confusion.

Malfoy walked around the table, handing each member an envelope.

Hermione watched as Mrs. Weasley's face fell to the table upon opening the envelope. 'What the hell is that thing?' she mentally thought, worried after seeing wide eyes from the people already given envelopes. Finally, Malfoy reached them and handed her and Harry two identical envelopes.

She eyed it and was almost sure it was an invitation. To a _Wedding_, particularly.

Hermione, shaken, opened the envelope and when her eyes landed on the letters on the card, her heart, her brain, her soul, all dropped in the floor.

"Why do I see your last name here Malfoy, together with Parkinson's, and with the word 'Nuptials' on one sentence?" Harry asked.

"What you can read there is self-explanatory, Potter. I don't need to expound why there are possibilities of finding my last name hyphenated with someone's last name a-"

Ron cut him off, "Am I to understand," he started, blinking hard at the card he was holding. "That I am being invited to _'your'_ wedding with Pansy Parkinson?" he asked incredulously, raising his head to look at Malfoy for confirmation.

"There," he said, looking at Harry. "That's the explanation you needed, Potter."

"You're getting married to_ PANSY_?" Ginny shrieked, shaking the poor card.

Malfoy nodded. "Yes..."

"_BUT WHY_?" Ginny asked, outraged.

"My fate leads me to her." Malfoy whispered.

Then everybody started bombing him questions of when and why and where their relationship started but Hermione could not bring her brain to process all his answers. She was focused to the piece of life detroyer in her hands.

She didn't know why she felt mad, frustrated, and angry at him. All she was sure about, was that she was mad, frustrated and angry at him.

Soon, she couldn't continue sitting in that room anymore. So, she stood up, walked straight to the door, turned the knob and called him.

"Malfoy." she said without turning to face him.

There was silence after that. She was sure he was listening.

"_Congratulations..._"

And with that, she went out and slammed the door close.

**A/N: that's chapter one. What do you think? If there are mistakes, I'm so sorry. Please REVIEW? The lyrics before the chapter begun was from the song "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol.**

**-theFALLINGauthor**


	2. Differences

**10 DAYS TO FIGHT FOR HIM, 10 MINUTES TO LOSE HIM**

**A/N:** Here's my chapter two. Please read. Hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own HP. I also don't own the word "Dramione". You'll find out what I mean.

**CHAPTER TWO: DIFFERENCES**

_"I thought some time alone was what we really needed._  
_You said this time would hurt more than it helps But I couldn't see that._  
_I thought it was the end of a beautiful story._  
_And so Ieft the one I love at home To be alone..."_

**Day 1-**

Hermione woke up late the next morning. It was half-past 8 o'clock when she rose from her bed. She had slept very late last night, doing what? Glaring at her ceiling. She kept on glancing at the Wedding Invitation she had received earlier that evening from Draco Malfoy. She was being invited to his wedding with none other than, his Hogwarts-fling, Pansy Parkinson.

It was true that Pansy wasn't one of the Slytherins in their batch who turned into Death Eaters. She was influenced by Draco; he convinced her not to engage in the gruesome life of being a servant to a Master who would do her no good. She fled during the war and hid far away with her father and sick mother, but before she left, she swore her support belonged to the Order. She wished them luck and after that, no one heard anything from her or her family.

No one knew that Draco had been seeing her. He never spoke about her or having a relationship with her or knowing where her location was at that matter.

Sure, Mr. Weasley had been right about Draco meeting a woman whenever he left to go somewhere. She just never thought it would be Pansy. Yes, they had been something during their time in Hogwarts, but it eventually faded during their 6th year when Draco had been pressured to take the Mark and be a full-fledged Death Eater.

They grew apart; Draco distanced himself from her. Pansy was devastated when they ended; when he broke it off with her.

And everyone -including Hermione- thought their parting was for good. Who would have thought that one night, Draco would call for an important meeting to announce his betrothal with the very girl he dumped years ago?

Hermione felt a sharp stinging inside her somewhere when she realized it all over again. He was going to marry her in 10 days. He was going to tie his knot with Pansy. He was leaving her...

Tears started forming in her eyes again and she roughly wiped them away. She was mad at him for trying to hurt her this way. She knew he was doing this to get his revenge. His pride was torn when she dumped him many months ago. She knew he was doing this to make her jealous. But no, she would not let him win. She would show him she was over him. She would rub it in his face that she didn't give a damn if he was marrying somebody else. She would prove it to him, that she didn't regret breaking up with him.

If he thought she was going to kneel in front of him and beg him to call-off the wedding, he was wrong. She would not ask him to come back to her. If he was desperate to get her back by going this far as to ask Pansy for a cup of marriage, she would show him his strategy was wrong. She dropped him off and she would never pick him up again...never.

He was being stupid and she was desperate to make him suffer the consequences of his equally stupid ways.

She knew...he would not pursue with the marriage. She would not even have to do anything to stop it. Once he realized he was not going to be successful in his plan, he would be the very person to cancel the damn wedding. She knew...or so, she thought.

She went downstairs an hour later after dressing up. She went straight to the dining area for breakfast and she found few people chatting there. They paused and looked at her. They nodded in acknowledgement of her presence and resumed talking. Hermione made her way to the seat beside Ginny who was talking with Luna. Ginny and Luna smiled at her and she smiled back too.

She started reaching for bacon and fried eggs and listened to what the others were talking about.

"He left early today. Didn't even eat his breakfast." Mrs. Weasley informed Lupin.

Lupin took a sip from his cup and gulped the liquid before setting his cup back to the saucer. "At least, now we know who he's meeting with."

Mr. Weasley wiped the sides of his mouth with the napkin and joined in the conversation. "I knew he was meeting a girl." he started. "I just didn't expect it was his ex-girlfriend." he shoved another piece of ham inside his mouth.

"No one expected it, Arthur." Mrs. Weasley said matter-of-factly. "And no one also certainly expected he was going to marry her."

Hermione's spoon hung in mid-air. She was reminded of the wedding again. She closed her mouth and frowned in anger. Malfoy was a fucking idiot and his mind was full of bullshit that would cause him trouble. She would not fall for his bait. No, she was much cleverer than he gave her credit for. If he thought she was going to give up her pride, and tell him she was sorry for dumping him, he was sorely mistaken. Hermione Granger was the brightest witch and Draco Malfoy was undoubtedly dimwitted for attempting or even thinking he could outsmart the person with the smartest brain in their generation.

He wanted to play a game with her? He was unfortunate because she was into the challenge and she had known his purpose for doing it. He was fighting a losing battle. He was trying to trick her, and he was doing a poor job. She had been the victor even before his game started -or so, she believed.

"Hermione?"

She was pulled back to present when she heard Ginny's voice calling out her name. She looked at Ginny, "Yes, Gin?"

"Are you all right?" she asked, brows furrowed. "You look troubled."

Hermione immediately shook her head. "Of course, I'm fine, Ginny! How can you even say I'm troubled?" she flashed her redhead friend a wide and fake grin.

"Well, apparently, you were glaring daggers at the bacon on your spoon."

"Oh." Hermione replied stupidly. She lowered her spoon and smiled again. "Nothing, Ginny. I'm just imagining the process of how this bacon ended up in my plate."

Ginny and Luna both looked dumbfounded.

"You know," Hermione shrugged. "I just thought of the poor animals being forcefully dragged to slaughter houses to turn them into...bacon, ham, hot dogs, meat loaves and those other kind of food."

Ginny and Luna exchanged confused looks. Hermione cleared her throat and shoved the spoon in her mouth. "But I reckon, if they weren't forced, they wouldn't voluntarily walk to butchers and tell them to slice their necks off. So maybe, their murderers didn't have another choice. I'm just thinking, really..."

Ginny and Luna nodded, still flabbergasted. She mentally cursed. Of all things she could use as an excuse, she chose a reason that only Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe would think of. For someone so amazingly smart, she was utterly stupid. It could only be blamed to the sodding blonde prick currently hanging out with his 'bride-to-be', Hermione thought bitterly.

Later that afternoon, after eating lunch with the members of the Order, Hermione decided to work on some reports about their mission to distract herself. She was in a foul mood during their lunch. The members just wouldn't stop talking about Malfoy and his coming wedding with Pansy. Others even suggested to tell Malfoy to bring his woman to the Headquarters so they could meet 'future Mrs. Malfoy'. Hermione nearly gagged when one member said that 'Pansy Malfoy' sounded right. Right, her ass. It sounded rather awful in her opinion.

She brought chicken and ham sandwich she made with her in the study. She wasn't able to eat properly through all the talking about the couple that just came known yesterday. She hardly swallowed her third spoon of roasted chicken when someone in the group spoke of the obvious; that Malfoy wasn't with them during that lunch because he was busy having a good time, which meant a romatic date, with his fiancee.

She officially gave up her lunch when, yet again, one member commented about his absence. He said, he reckoned Malfoy wouldn't come home that evening because he would make sweet-but-rough love to his witch. She choked on her pumpkin juice on purpose to excuse herself from the table. When they were done eating, she went to the kitchen and made herself a sandwich to feed her discontented stomach.

She read the newly delivered reports seriously to pull her mind away from her extra thoughts. 3 Death Eaters were captured just a month ago, apparently by Ron, Harry and Malfoy. They were thrown instantly to Azkaban and it took 3 weeks before the Aurors and Order members squeezed some information about the whereabouts of some other wanted Death Eaters from them.

Suddenly, the door to the study opened. Hermione raised her head to look at who entered. It was Ginny Weasley. Hermione smiled at her and went back to the reports she was reading.

Ginny walked over to her and sat on the edge of the wooden table. "Hmm, sandwich. Why's that?"

Hermione hesitated. "I wasn't able to eat properly during our lunch. I wasn't hungry, then..." she lied.

"Wasn't hungry?" she echoed, unconvinced. "Or couldn't stomach the discussion you were hearing?"

Hermione was taken aback but gained her composure immediately. She looked up at her friend and played dumb. "What do you mean, Ginny?"

Ginny shrugged, "You know..." she hesitated for a while but went on. "I thought there was something going on between you and Malfoy."

If Hermione was surprised, she hid it well. "What something?"

"Something called_ ROMANCE_." Ginny greatly emphasized the last two syllables.

Hermione was genuinely shocked but she hid it by laughing hard. Ginny looked at her in annoyance when she didn't stop laughing for a whole minute.

"You know, I don't appreciate being laughed at." Ginny snapped.

Hermione pretended to wipe the sides of her eyes before gazing at her irritated friend. "Sorry, Ginny, but the idea is just funny." she faked a chuckle. "What made you think I had -or will ever have- romance with Malfoy? God, if he heard you, I swear he would have laughed harder than I had."

"You can't actually blame me for thinking of that." Ginny said, still indignant. "You grew so close since he started living here and you can't deny that or tell me I was the only one who saw that, because Luna agrees with me, too!"

"Oh, Ginny..." Hermione grinned, mocking her friend.

"Luna and I noticed something between the two of you." Ginny continued, standing up from the table to face her fully. "We noticed you always went with each other. You always talk about him when we chat and Malfoy talks about you when we converse with him, too. We noticed you steal glances at each other every time possible and you smile at each other suspiciously. You never smiled the way you had to him with Ron or Harry, and don't you dare contradict me because Luna noticed it, too! If both of us noticed these stuffs, then it means I wasn't just imagining things. Something was going on between the two of you."

Hermione sighed. "Ginny, please get a grip of yourself-"

Ginny cut her off again. "But I noticed you grew apart months ago. You turned cold towards each other." she said matter-of-factly.

Hermione stood and walked to Ginny. She held her shoulders and looked at her. "Nothing, I repeat, NOTHING happened -or will happen, at that matter- between me and Malfoy. We had a short-time friendship but other than that, no more." she hated lying but she knew Ginny would understand it. She would tell her someday, anyway. "That friendship even turned to friend_shit_ eventually."

"But...Hermione, you were supposed to be perfect with him." Ginny said dejectedly.

"What?"

"You know, I thought you looked good together. I know you dated my brother before, but to be honest, I never saw you fit with him. You two were just...very different. You and Ron were both pieces of a puzzle but you don't solve the same picture."

"And you're saying that Malfoy and I do?" Hermione asked incredulously.

Ginny sighed. "It's only my opinion, Hermione. I'm just stating what my eyes saw."

"What, exactly, have your eyes seen?"

"I saw a Yin and Yang." she started jerking her hands in the air. "A quill and a parchment, a broomstick and a rider, a wand and a holder, a cauldron and a laddle, a foot and a boot, a hand and a glove-"

Hermione raised her hand, "Okay, I get the point-" but Ginny ignored her and just went on, ranting.

"A snitch and a seeker, a bludger and a beater, a quaffle and a chaser, a hoop and a keeper, a uniform and a tie, a brush and a hair -in short, I saw a perfect pair." she finished, a little out of breath.

Hermione gaped at Ginny for a moment before she spoke. "Ginny, Malfoy and I are not a perfect pair."

Ginny looked down for a second then looked back to Hermione. "I was very shocked when he announced his betrothal with a woman who disappeared for years last night. I was hoping you were together. You know, I ship you and Malfoy." Ginny admitted.

"You what?" Hermione couldn't hide the shock now.

"I fancy your pair. Luna and I even thought of a ship name for the two of you: 'Dramione'. Doesn't it sound cute?" Ginny said dreamily.

Hermione's jaw dropped after hearing her statement. She could not believe her ears. Ginny Weasley, the sister of her ex-boyfriend, the girlfriend of her best friend and her best female friend just said she fancied her with Malfoy. MALFOY whom she hated, whom her brothers hated, whom her boyfriend hated, whom even Hermione hated herself, was qualified for Ginny to be Hermione's next fling.

"I know what you're thinking, that I'm stupid. Well...I was just a hopeful shipper, you know. But since you're claiming nothing ever happened between you two, and Malfoy is marrying another woman, then maybe I should stop pairing you with him. I don't want to set you more apart. I'm still hoping you'll rebuild your friendship, though. Friendshit doesn't sound good."

Ginny released herself from Hermione's grasp and tapped her shoulder. "Sorry, for disturbing you, Hermione. You can go back reading again, I'm going." she turned and left the room with a final smile at Hermione.

When the door closed, Hermione sighed and went back to her seat. She picked up the report she was reading but couldn't concentrate on it anymore. One word kept running on her silly mind:

'_Dramione_'

She convinced herself that it was a dumb name. But as she kept trying to be disgusted at it, she found herself liking it, instead.

**A/N: what do you think about this chapter? Please REVIEW. The lyrics found before the chapter started was from the song "I'd Rather" by Luther Vandross.**


	3. An Empty Glass

**10 DAYS TO FIGHT FOR HIM, 10 MINUTES TO LOSE HIM**

**A/N: Hi, guys! I would like to invite you to read my other story The Pink Umbrella. It needs your support. Haha :D I know, and I admit that the first few chapters are not that captivating, but I think the next chapters will be good ones. Oh, and here's another chapter for this story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not certainly, and obviously, own Harry Potter. I'm not J.K Rowling. :D I'm simply the fallingauthor.**

**CHAPTER THREE: AN EMPTY GLASS**

_"Broken this fragile thing now,_  
_And I can't,_  
_I can't pick up the pieces._  
_And I've thrown my words all around,_  
_But I can't,_  
_I can't give you a reason..."_

**10:34 p.m**

Hermione went down from her bedroom to the kitchen to get something to drink. It was already deserted in the Headquarters; the members went to the Ministry to attend a gathering and she refused to go. She was not in the mood for parties that night, so she stayed at home.

She loved parties, honestly, but that night, she didn't feel like being in one, unfortunately. She had been in a couple of parties held in the Ministry before, and she liked -more appropriately, enjoyed- every single one she attended. She liked engaging in a chat with Ministry people; they all talked in a business-like way and she loved it. She also liked the liquor, although she don't usually drink too much, because she hated having hang-over the next morning. She liked seeing important people, dressed up formally. But what she enjoyed in parties the most, was dancing.

She liked having her arms around a handsome man's neck, having that said man's arms tightly holding her waist, having to look at the same man's lovely, mesmerizing eyes, having to stand so close to him, to feel his warmth, to inhale his natural scent, to forget everything momentarily, to be lost in a different world with him alone...to be with him without anybody to contradict, to dance with him as his lover not just as his companion, as somebody he knew, as his co-member in the Order or as his arch nemesis.

But they couldn't dance anymore. If they danced again, if they swayed at the same music again, she wouldn't be able to let him go anymore. It was hard when she ended what was supposed to be forever, but she had to do it. She had to see if he was for her and she was for him. Obviously, as how things turned out, they were not for each other.

She shook her head from her thoughts. Why was she even thinking about their past?

She took a glass and turned the faucet on. She turned it off and drank the water from her glass. After several gulps, she finished the contents and put the glass down. The sound of the bottom of the glass hitting the tiled sink echoed through the walls of the fairly huge kitchen. It was the only noise she heard. It was a very silent evening, indeed.

Her current situation reminded her of another scene more than a year ago. It happened in the very kitchen where she stood. Her mind flew back to the memories of the night when Draco Malfoy first apologized to her.

_-flashback-_

It was 12:56 when Hermione went downstairs to the kitchen to have something to drink. It had been a tough day for the Order. They had an encounter with Death Eaters earlier that day. Luckily, no one died but many of them were injured. Hermione helped healing most of them, including the hero of that day, Draco Malfoy.

Draco fought with the Order against the Death Eaters. He bravely faced the people that had been his companions when he was growing up. He showed no regret in throwing hexes to them. But the most unforgettable feat he did was jumping behind Harry to receive the full blown curse that was aimed at him. Harry had had time to petrify the Death Eater before he could throw another hex towards him. Malfoy had been unconscious for hours and Harry was furious. He swore to Avada the Death Eater who did that to Malfoy the next time they meet. They all thought they were going to lose him. But after 7 hours, he woke up.

Harry was relieved when he opened his eyes. They all welcomed Malfoy in the Order. If yesterday they were doubting his loyalty, they surely would not have any more reason to do so that day. He proved he was faithful to the Order.

When Hermione entered the kitchen, she was surprised to find Malfoy there. He was sitting erect in the chair, with his hands on his lap and his head down. He raised his head when he heard the noise Hermione made when she went in. He looked surprised at first but later, slowly lowered his head to stare at the floor again.

Hermione decided to talk, "Malfoy, what are you doing here?" she asked, making her way to the sink.

"Nothing..." came his soft reply.

Hermione took a glass and turned to him, "Does anything hurt? Your wounds-"

"No..." he cut her off with a whisper, still not looking at her.

"Oh." Hermione said. She faced the sink again and turned the faucet on. She quickly gulped the water and placed the empty glass on the sink. She took another glass and filled it with water, then walked to the table. She stood across Malfoy, her body covering the light of the moon. She placed the glass of water in front of Malfoy.

Malfoy raised his head again and stared at the water for a while before looking up to the person who offered it. "Thank you..." he whispered.

"You're welcome." Hermione replied.

Malfoy took the glass in his hand and gulped it all. He put the glass back to the table without saying anything else. Hermione just watched him staring at the empty glass. She wasn't sure what to do, or what to say to him. She used to know how to deal with Malfoy back in Hogwarts. Everytime he commented on her, there was something she could throw back at him. Every time he opened his mouth to say something rude, she would tell him to shut up. But now that his mouth was shut, she suddenly wanted him to say something. Anything to bring the life back to him.

She sat on the bench across Malfoy and studied him. He was different. He was not the same Malfoy she knew back then. The Malfoy before always had this air of arrogance in him. But the Malfoy she was facing now, was a Malfoy full of disdain and disappointment. The Malfoy she was looking at, was not the attractive and good-looking Prince of Slytherin anymore. He was the beautiful boy with a good heart who was raised in a twisted and vile world that shaped the person he used to be.

"Malfoy, what are you thinking?" Hermione asked him softly.

He did not look at her, just continued staring at the glass when he spoke softly. "I don't want to be like an empty glass...with nothing inside. With nothing but a _deep, empty_ space. My father gave me everything I lived for. He_ filled_ me. He taught me the wrong things and I accepted them. I lived the wrong life but I embraced it. He fed me with wrong information and I ate them all. I worshiped what he worshiped and that lead me to nothing. I believed his wrong beliefs and that made my existence a huge mistake. When I realized my wrong doings, I turned my back on him. Because of that, I drained my self in the process. I don't regret taking the right side...but in some way, when I left my father, I felt empty. I can't help but feel like an empty glass...even if I don't want to be one." he finished in a whisper.

Hermione felt a tug in her heart upon hearing him. She knew he was a good person who only followed the wrong Master. She smiled at him. "Then let's fill you up again, Draco."

Malfoy looked at her, confusion etched on his handsome, but marred with cuts, face.

"We'll fill you up again, Draco." she repeated. "But this time, we'll fill you up with the right things."

He stared at her for a moment before speaking again. "Earlier, I thought I was going to die." he confessed.

Hermione was surprised at the sudden shift of topic but chose to just go on with it.

Draco continued, "When I saw the Death Eater aim at Potter, I didn't think twice of taking the curse for him. After all, his life was more important than mine. Everyone needs Potter. He's the only one who can defeat the Dark Lord. But you know what? I would have hated it if I died. I wouldn't regret saving Potter, most especially dying for him...but I really didn't want to die yet." he looked at Hermione dead in the eyes. "I haven't asked for an apology to any of you. Until I've said sorry, I wouldn't want to welcome death yet."

Susprised was an understatement of what she felt. Her eyes grew wide at his words.

"After my almost death, I realized I don't have time anymore. I can die any minute. I should start apologizing now and I will start with you, Granger." he stood and made his way to Hermione. Hermione followed his movements with a bewildered expression and when he reached in front of her, he slowly knelt. Hermione's jaw dropped and she was shocked beyond belief at his action and tried to make him stand.

"What are you doing, Draco? Stand up." she forced him to stand but he remained kneeling.

He raised his head and looked at Hermione's brown eyes. "I want to say sorry, Granger." He started. Hermione was still trying to pull him up but he ignored it. His knees kept glued to the floor. "I'm so sorry for being an ass to you, Weasley and Potter. I'm so sorry for calling you a 'mudblood'. I know it was hurtful, but I didn't refrain from insulting you with that foul, disgusting name. I'm so sorry I wanted to feel superior by rubbing your face with the fact that you didn't have a wizard blood and I had and it was pure."

Hermione stopped trying to make him stand. She just listened to him as he apologized for the mistakes he did that truly pained her, back then.

"I'm sorry I taunted you for many years. I'm sorry I was one of the reasons your life in Hogwarts had been bad. I'm so sorry for making you feel you were a low-life and not worth of knowing magic. I'm so sorry for hating you for the wrong reasons. I'm so sorry, Granger, I became my father's son." his voice started breaking. "I'm so sorry, Granger. For all the things...I'm so, so, sorry...I'm sorry I haven't seen what a good person you are. Sorry I had been blind...Sorry, sorry, sorry..."

Hermione's tears started forming. She felt the sincerity of his apology and so, she knelt in front of him and locked him in an assuring embrace. "It's okay, Draco. I forgive you. You're not a perfect person like what your father and his peers expected you to be. You are as sinful as all of us here. You are as human as us. And you are more than worthy of a second chance. I'm going to help in filling you up again. I promise..."

_-end of flashback-_

She picked the empty glass from the sink and stared at it.

'You're no longer empty, are you...?' she thought.

"Granger, why are you still up?"

The sudden calling surprised Hermione. She jumped and almost got the glass falling, hadn't she tightened her grasp at it. She whipped around to see who just arrived.

Her eyes narrowed at the blonde. "Malfoy, you might want to warn me next time, of your presence. You gave me a fright, there." she scowled at him. She put the glass back to the sink before facing him.

Malfoy shrugged, "Yeah, I will warn you next time. Where's everybody?" he asked, looking around, taking in the dark surrounding.

"They all attended the gathering in the Ministry. Weren't you informed about it?" she asked icily.

"I was." he nodded. "I forgot about it, to be honest." he walked towards Hermione. She took steps backward, thinking he was approaching her, but he stopped in front of the sink, instead. She felt a little embarrassed for even thinking he was going to do something to her.

He turned the faucet on and started washing his hand. "Why didn't you go, Granger? It would have been fun. You can dance all night. Isn't that what you love doing?"

She crossed her arms, "That is none of your business." she answered sourly. She knew what he was implying. Of course, she wasn't thick! He was reminding her that during Ministry gatherings, he was the only man she loved to dance with. 'LOVED', which meant it was all in the damn PAST.

He shrugged nonchalantly, "Okay." was his simple reply.

She was starting to get irritated by his simple replies. He was acting coolly, and that annoyed the hell out of her. "Why did you come home early?"

"Early?" he echoed, turning the faucet off. He turned to look at the wall clock and then back to her. "But it's 11:01 already."

"I thought you would have spent the whole evening with your so-called fiancee." she said the last word with disgust.

"I've spent the whole day with her." he said matter-of-factly. "You didn't notice I was away since morning?" he asked with a little hint of disappointment in his voice.

She scoffed, "Of course, I didn't." she lied. "I have a lot of things to put my attention to and you are _not_ one of them."

He frowned at her words. It seemed to hit him hard. "Really?" he asked through clenched teeth. He took steps forward and again, she took steps backward, sure that this time, she was right and he was coming to her, until her back reached the dead end. He moved close to her until there was barely a breathing space between them. Draco challenged her by leaning his face closer. She was nervous but she didn't show it. Instead, she stood up straight with chin up daring him to do what he was trying to do. He stopped dangerously close to her. Their foreheads were touching and their lips were millimeters away from each other.

Hermione's knees were close to weakening but she forced to stand. She could feel his hot breath in her lips and she admitted she missed that feeling. It had been months since the last time he had been this close to her. It had been months since the last time she tasted his lips, and if not because of her pride, she would have ravished him the moment he started leaning closer.

"Don't you remember...?" he whispered. She almost gave in when the smell of his breath penetrated her sensitive nose. It was intoxicating as it always had been. She felt his right hand rising, then later, his fingertips were on the side of her temple. "I was the one this head used to think of every second, every minute, every hour of every day." slowly, his hand transferred to her chest. He leaned his palm on the left side of her chest and for a short while, paused to feel her heart, beating so fast.

She didn't slap his hand away, instead, she also paused to try listening to her own heartbeat and reveled in the feeling of his warm hand pressed right above her heart.

"This..." Malfoy whispered again. "This used to be mine, too. This used to be functioning because of me." he looked at her big, brown eyes. "I used to be the very reason this heart continued pumping blood." he said, with a hint of sadness in his husky voice.

She fought the urge to give in to him. She forced herself to think of something else other than her being trapped between the wall and his strong body. They were through, she reminded herself again, and she was the one who ended it. She was done with him and she was over him. This shouldn't be happening.

She pushed him away roughly and met his surprised eyes with a burning glare. "Stop thinking you used to own me." she drawled. "Stop making me remember I used to feel crap for you."

Malfoy's face hardened again at her harsh words, and she noticed his fists clenched.

"Yes, I used to think of you. Yes, I used to care about you. But it's all in the past. You, Malfoy, are a big _PAST TENSE_ in my life. My world doesn't revolve around you anymore." she sneered bitterly.

"And if you don't stop pretending," he whispered loudly, his silver orbs piercing through her very soul. "My world would stop revolving around you, too." he finished in a soft and dismayed voice.

Hermione was taken aback and she froze. He turned his back on her, and with a final meaningful glance, left the room completely...left Hermione.

**-end of day 1**

**A/N: please leave a REVIEW. I'm so sorry if wasn't satisfying and sorry for the mistakes. :D The lyrics above was from the song "Only One" by Yellowcard.**


	4. Anonymous' Note

**10 DAYS TO FIGHT FOR HIM, 10 MINUTES TO LOSE HIM**

**A/N: Hello again! I'm updating the story! :D Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP.**

**CHAPTER FOUR: ANONYMOUS' NOTE**

_"In the middle of the night_

_When I'm in this dream _

_It's like a million little stars _

_Spelling out your name..."_

**Day 2-**

Hermione woke to the loud banging in her door. She groaned and stirred in her bed. She decided to ignore the noise and continued sleeping. It had been the second night in a row that she didn't get enough sleep. She needed her sleep badly so she would not rose. She would ignore the pounding on her door by the large, annoying hands of Ron.

"Hermione, come on! Wake up, sleepy head! Come down for breakfast!" Ron yelled outside her door.

Hermione groaned again and made no sign of getting off the bed. She would ignore Ron. She would ignore Ron. She would-

"Hermione, get up now! Everyone's here, you know. The members are all here except you, so get up now!" Ron yelled again.

She sighed. Everyone was there. If everyone was there, she should not be the only one absent. Meals with the presence of many members meant a meeting. So, she groggily sat from the bed and yelled at Ron. "5 seconds!"

"Be sure, Hermione. Come down as soon as you're done!"

"Sure."

After that, she heard the retreating footsteps of Ron. She sighed deeply. If everyone was there, it meant Malfoy was there. She was not sure she was ready to face him after their encounter last night. It would be very awkward.

She immediately got off of her bed and fixed it. She took a quick but hygienic bath and dressed herself up. Before opening her knob, she hesitated again. But before she completely chickened out, her pride kicked off. If she don't show herself up, Malfoy would think she was affected by their previous conversation. He would know she felt a slight panic when she heard his last sentence last night. He would think his strategy was working on her. She couldn't allow that to happen. She wouldn't let him think he was winning, even for just a millisecond.

She would show him that she already forgot they even met last night. Right. She would show him.

With new-found confidence, she walked out of her room and went straight to the dining area where they were all gathered. She entered the room with grace. "Good morning, everyone." she greeted them cheerfully.

"Good morning, Hermione!" Nymphadora Tonks replied at her greeting.

"Morning there, Tonks. How's Teddy?" she said, taking her seat between Ginny and Ron.

"He's doing great! He's dying to visit here...been pestering Remus to tag him along." Tonks informed her, grinning.

"Oh, I'm dying to see him, too." Hermione chirped up.

Tonks wiped the sides of her mouth and looked at Draco 2 people away from her to the left. "Actually, little Teddy missed his dearest 2nd degree cousin-slash-uncle Drake more than anyone else in the whole wide universe." Tonks beamed at Draco.

"He missed choking me..." Draco muttered quietly while stabbing the salmon meat in his plate.

Draco paused from biting his salmon and looked at Ginny across him. Ginny was snickering at him, and she was trying to control her laughter but failing miserably.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked, unamused.

Ginny snickered more and wiped her eyes from the tears of her laughter. She looked at Tonks, grinning. "Do you remember what happened the last time you brought Teddy here?"

Tonks tilted her head sideway, searching in her mind the memory of the last time Teddy visited the Headquarters. "Um...I can only remember one, memorable moment..." she said meaningfully, glancing at Draco.

"Which is?" Ginny prodded playfully.

"Well, when Draco carried him and he wouldn't let go anymore. He clung to Draco so tight he almost got his uncle choked, and the only way we reckoned to take him away from Draco was to make him sleep. So, he slept in Draco's arms but even his unconscious mind knew better than to let go." Tonks started snickering as well. "And well, he drooled on Draco's newly purchased green and costumized Madam Malkin robe."

Draco rolled his eyes, "I wasn't 'almost' choked. I was completely choked."

Tonks and Ginny continued laughing and Draco huffed in annoyance. Hermione wanted to laugh as well, but she found herself afraid to do so. Ron and Harry soon joined, reminiscing other scenes when Teddy Lupin last visited Grimmauld Place.

"Remember when Malfoy tickled Teddy in an attempt to loosen his clutch on his neck and he ended up shrieking so sharp and the portrait of Mrs. Black started yelling obsceneties and stuff and Malfoy panicked and didn't know what to do because Teddy started wailing too?" Ron said, chuckling.

"Yeah, I remember that." Harry excitedly exclaimed. "Draco resorted to baby talking Teddy and he looked like an utter moron! Instead of shutting poor Teddy, he made him whine all the _more_!"

Everyone in the table laughed at that. They chuckled at Draco who was turning red in the face out of embarrassment. Hermione almost chuckled when she, too, remembered the very scene Harry was talking about.

Harry and Ron continued embarrassing Malfoy. They all laughed, except Hermione and Malfoy, himself, who looked ready to murder Harry and Ron. She grinned and smiled too, but she forced herself not to laugh.

30 minutes passed and they were still laughing. But everyone stopped when Shacklebolt snapped to business.

"Okay, let's set aside the fun first. We have something very important to discuss."

Draco was thankful Shacklebolt ended his torture already. Everyone stopped eating and sat straight in their seats. All turned to face Shacklebolt in the Driver's seat. He stood up and looked at everybody seriously.

"For the past year, we have been spending a lot of time searching for the remaining Death Eaters at large." he started. "We successfully captured them and now we are down to the last 5 Death Eaters yet to be caught, namely: Crabbe Sr., Goyle Sr., Thorfinn Rowle, Nott Sr. and the only thorn among the roses, Mrs. Zabini."

Shacklebolt looked at Malfoy, "Malfoy, you have been associated with this group of people in the past, haven't you?"

Malfoy tensed for a short while but nodded, "Yes." he replied. "I dined with those people a couple of times..."

Shacklebolt nodded, "Yes, yes. By the request of your father."

"By the 'demand', actually." Draco hastily corrected.

"By the demand," Shacklebolt agreed. "Of course..." he cleared his throat once again. "So, this morning, the Ministry received a note from an anonymous. We checked it for hidden curses and we found nothing harmful in it. It only had a charm to open to the rightful receiver." he informed. "Me."

"What does the note says?" Harry asked, frowning.

Shacklebolt motioned an Auror he brought along to hand him the said note. He raised the note and casted an enlargement charm. The paper instantly turned into a gigantic paper so everyone in the room could read the note. It was scribbled messily but still readable.

**Kingsley Shacklebolt **

**-Head of Auror Department**

**I will go straight to the point. I know the location of the 5 remaining Death Eaters yet captured. I will give up the information about them. I will wait in a pub called _'Gates to Hades' Kingdom'_ in Knockturn Alley until 2 in the atfernoon today. I request the young Malfoy to take the details from me. I will talk to no one else but him. If you fail to meet my condition, _no exchange of information shall be done._**

"Me?" Malfoy mused. "Why do I have to be the one?"

Shacklebolt shrunk the paper and kept it again. He looked at everyone and they were all looking at him questioningly. He focused on Malfoy.

"The reason why this informant wants you to be the one is still oblivious to me." he admitted. "I do not know what his purpose or his motive is."

"Perhaps," Mr. Weasley spoke. "This informant feels safe with Malfoy. After all, the kid was once on the Dark side." he suggested.

Shacklebolt considered the idea, "Perhaps, you're right. Maybe he can spill every detail if Malfoy talks to him."

The room erupted into murmurs of agreement and nodding of heads. However, one person didn't find the proposition acceptable. Hermione scoffed aloud, stopping everyone in their conversations. "We can't just settle to 'maybe's' and 'perhaps'. We don't even know who this informant is. He could be one of the 5, tricking us to fall for their bait."

Several heads nodded in agreement at her.

"Ms. Granger, I understand your concern. But if he really is trying to trick us, he wouldn't meet us in a public place even if it's in Knockturn Alley. Anywhere is dangerous to those Death Eaters. And it wasn't mentioned that we are not allowed to go. He requested to converse with Malfoy but that doesn't mean we couldn't stay behind to watch them." Shacklebolt reasoned.

Hermione scoffed again in disbelief, "You're fine with risking Malfoy? Outrageous!" she threw her hands in the air.

"I'm going." Malfoy announced suddenly.

Hermione whipped her head towards him and gaped at him. "What?" she asked incredulously. "Are you losing your fucking mind Malfoy? You are _not_ going." she told him bossily.

Malfoy narrowed his eyes, "And who are you to stop me?" he retorted back.

"I'm just being a concerned citizen here!" Hermione blurted out. "But if you want to put your dear life to danger for something uncertain, then go, for all I care. But if you die, don't dare tell me I didn't warn you." she stood from her seat angrily and marched out the dining area, leaving the others in confusion.

She slammed the door in her room in frustration. She was fuming in an anger directed at Malfoy. She was just concerned, for fuck's sake, and he had the nerve to retort like she was someone not associated with him at any angle. She was a member of the Order too and she had a say whether she disagree on something or not. What if it really was a trick? What if he ended up killed? Like anybody could save him from the killing curse fast enough even if other members were watching close behind. They were all losing their wits. Even Shacklebolt was an idiot.

She lay in her bed and glared at the ceiling, seeing Malfoy's face. She didn't know how long she glared at the ceiling, all she knew, she fell asleep.

She woke up from the knock on her door. She stood up and opened it and saw Harry outside.

"Harry," she acknowledged him.

Harry nodded and reached inside his pocket. He took out something and handed it to Hermione. Hermione stared at his closed hands before looking at her best friend with brows furrowed.

"What is that, Harry?" she asked.

He opened his palms and revealed a miniature figure of an ear. Hermione frowned at the little object before picking it up from Harry's hand. She examined it close to her face. It really looked like an ear.

"It's a device from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. We purchased a couple of boxes for the mission in Knockturn Alley." Harry informed.

Hermione looked at Harry in disbelief. "So, they're going on with it?"

Harry nodded. "Shacklebolt believes it will be successful. Said, let's just have faith in Malfoy and the informant."

She scoffed bitterly, "So Malfoy really accepted the mission?"

"Of course," Harry answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You know Malfoy never declined a mission."

"Stupid fucking moron..." Hermione hissed, looking away indignantly.

"It will be fine, Hermione. Shacklebolt is right." Harry reached for her shoulders. Hermione looked at him. "How will we know if the informant is a fake if we don't go and find it out ourselves?"

"But in doing so, we're sacrificing one of the member's safety!" Hermione reasoned.

"Yes, but...if we don't go and take the risk, we won't know what we are suppose to achieve. If we don't taste the food, how will we know it's delicious? Appearance and smell certainly don't justify the means. Same as this mission. It looked risky, it sounded dangerous, but we can never confirm anything unless we go and find out the results in the end, ourselves."

Hermione stared at Harry for a moment, taking in his words. Then, she took a deep breathe, closed her eyes and exhaled in a loud gasp. She looked at Harry's eyes again and to the smaller version of an ear in her hand.

She frowned suddenly, "Wait a minute," she glared at Harry. " We purchased tools for a serious mission in a joke shop? That's ridiculous!"

Harry exhaled, "Hermione, this might just look like a joke item but it works, honestly. Through this, we can hear what Malfoy and the informant will be talking about. We will not be void of any information. If he's attempting to attack Malfoy, we will hear it. We can act immediately." Harry convinced her.

Hermione let out a heavy exhale again. She shook her head. "I really can't believe they're going." she muttered. "You know what?" she asked Harry.

Harry looked at her, raising his eyebrow. "Yes?"

"If Malfoy died in this, I'm going to _kill_ him. I promise that." she told Harry seriously.

Harry couldn't help but smile, "Yes, well. Want me to lend a hand?"

Hermione chuckled at that. "Come on." she gave Harry a little push in the back and closed her door and they went downstairs to prepare to go to Knockturn Alley.

**A/N: so, how was it guys? The lyrics above are from the song, "Untouchable" by Taylor Swift. Please REVIEW.**


	5. Through Heart, Not Eyes

**10 DAYS TO FIGHT FOR HIM, 10 MINUTES TO LOSE HIM**

**A/N: So, uh here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP.**

**CHAPTER FIVE: THROUGH HEART, NOT EYES**

_"When it's all said and done _

_I'll be just a speck in the galaxy _

_Floating far, far away by gravity..."_

**12:23 p.m ~ Diagon Alley**

The member of the Order who went for the mission stalked off Diagon Alley. They decided to hang in the place first before going to Knockturn Alley at 2:00 to talk about the said mission. They had to plan everything carefully to avoid putting their lives in danger, most especially Malfoy's.

They all wore the Order of the Phoenix official robe; a black hooded robe with an image of a big Red Phoenix over a raging fire at the back and the Ministry seal on the chest at the left side. Almost everyone they passed by, looked at them in awe. Some elderly witches and wizards shook hands with them and greeted them with full respect. Some kid witches and wizards pointed at them excitedly, trying very hard to break away from the tight grip of their parents to run to them and probably squeeze themselves around their waists.

Hermione smiled at the little children waving at her. She felt proud of herself, seeing the sparkling eyes of the innocent little wizards and witches, looking up to them.

Shacklebolt lead them in to a newly-built establishment called 'Merlin's Haven', a wizards version of a muggle cafeteria. The door chimed when they entered and all the heads turned to them. Like the reaction of the people outside the cafeteria, they all beamed at the sight of them. Of course, anyone who belonged to the Order of the Phoenix were considered heroes.

"Mum, look, it's Harry Potter!" a kid shouted, pointing at Harry.

His mother pushed his small hand down, "It's rude to point." she warned her son. The kid didn't mind her, though, and continued smiling at Harry.

Harry took his hood off and beamed at the kid. He waved at him and the kid was beyond ecstatic.

The door chimed in again and Malfoy and Ron entered. They immediately took off their hoods and Hermione knew Malfoy wished he hadn't, because right after he revealed his shining, blond head, 6 kid witches shrieked and came running to him. They took him off guard so he toppled on the ground, falling hard on his butt.

"What the fu-" the rest of his curse dropped to the floor with him. The kids launched themselves on him and took advantage of the fallen blonde. They assaulted his neck by wrapping their little arms around it, hugging him so tight, while yelling. Malfoy tried to pry himself away but couldn't fight off the kids. Merlin, 6 kids overpowered him. When he started choking, Charlie Weasley decided to help him, finally.

"It's Malfoy! It's Malfoy!" one of the kids shouted.

"Malfoy, you are soooo cute!" the other witch exclaimed.

"I love your hair!"

"Oh my god, you are so tall! How come you are very little in the posters?"

"You smell soooooo good!"

"Wait for me when I grow up, Draaaaco! I love you so much! You are very cool in the newspaper! My father told me you look so handsome in person, even better than those I cut from the Daily Prophet! And he's been right about it! I want to be your girlfriend!" the cute, little brunette girl with curly hair shrieked in Malfoy's ear. "Please Draaaco Maaalfoy, make meeee your girlfriend!"

The mothers of the kids ran to Draco's rescue. It took them a while before they finally grabbed their kids away from a very messed-up Draco. His robes were wrinkled, his face was flushed, his hair was tousled and he looked exhausted. Charlie helped him up and muttered a spell to fix Draco's tortured form.

The parents apologized to Draco frantically. Draco dismissed them and told them it was fine, but Hermione knew better. She knew deep inside Draco wanted to yell at them and tell them to chain their daughters so they wouldn't run off and jump off random people.

The kids still tried to reach for their 'wizard crush' but their parents lead them out of the cafeteria before they could even lay another finger on Draco.

"Are you alright, Malfoy?" Shacklebolt asked him.

Draco nodded, "Yeah. 6 little girls just ravished me on the floor and I couldn't even push them away, why shouldn't I be alright?" he replied sarcastically. "Oh and one wanted to be my girlfriend and told me to wait when she grows up." he added.

Shacklebolt smiled, "Better keep that hood on, then. Maybe next time, 6 plump, old ladies come running towards you." he joked.

Malfoy tensed and paled, imagining what the Auror just said, and frowned in disgust. Shacklebolt went back to business and faced the owner of the eatery.

"I need a place where all 10 of us can sit and discuss in private." he immediately got to the point.

The owner, a petite, blonde, young woman grinned. "Sure, I can offer a room for all of you. Please follow me." she turned around and started leading them upstairs to the second floor of the shop.

The young blonde, Zarah, lead them to the 2nd room on the right side. She opened the door for them and guided them in. When they entered, they were greeted with total darkness. Zarah conjured a lamp that illuminated the room and levitated it. The lamp safely hovered above to continue giving out light.

When she was able to see properly, Hermione noticed nothing was really inside the room. Totally nothing but pure emptiness. The room had big enough space for all the members present in the mission. Hermione didn't know if the room was really just empty or it was purposely cleaned up for the meeting. The four walls around didn't have anything hanging on them except for the windows attached. The windows weren't closed, it was only covered with an enchantment to keep the darkness and not welcome the light.

"So, is this room big enough?" Zarah turned to Shacklebolt and asked the Auror with creasing forehead.

Shacklebolt nodded, still looking around. "I like the darkness...gives me the assurance of complete privacy."

"Well, if there's anything you need, just call me. Anyway, a waitress will be knocking on your door moments later to get your orders. I'll be off." with that, she walked away and closed the door behind her.

With a wave of his wand, Shacklebolt conjured a rectangle-shaped wooden table with 10 chairs around. Immediately, he getured for us to occupy the seats so we could start planning. Not wasting a second, everyone gathered themselves on the table, claiming chairs for themselves. Hermione was seated between the Assistant Auror of Shacklebolt named Garvas and her best friend Ron. Across her, Malfoy was seated between Harry and Charlie Weasley (who surprisingly had gotten closer to Malfoy due to their constant discussion about the dragons Charlie used to look over and take care of before he went back to London and became part of the Order of the Phoenix. Malfoy was fond of dragons -what with his name and all- and Charlie was just happy sharing conversations about them with the blonde).

Hermione chuckled secretly when she noticed the blonde still covering himself with his hood. Maybe he was severely traumatized after the previous incident. But seriously, they were all by themselves in the chamber, who would jump him?

Certainly not her.

She shook her head and looked at Malfoy again. She couldn't help but remember their exchange last night. She remembered how he smelled...like fresh apples and cinnamon in her nose. Uniquely Malfoy smell. And his breath, it was minty. And his eyes...his endearing eyes...grey as it always had been. Captivating like nothing else. And there was his voice, husky but gentle...she missed that voice. The way he whispered words in her ears...just sent shivers down her spine.

It was a divine sin to think of her ex like that again...he was untied to her already and he was glued to someone else. 'No, no more...enough of these thoughts Hermione. He can't win...' she scolded herself.

'And if you don't stop pretending...my world would stop revolving around you, too'

She froze. Those words echoed in the walls of her head all over again and she hated the way it affected her. She was not pretending, no, definitely not. Yes, maybe she broke up with him for a purpose but after finding out he was taking someone else to the damned altar, she stopped hoping they'd be back together. It turned out, her experiment had its result the moment Malfoy handed her the blasted wedding invitation.

And the result was: They were not meant for each other.

If they were, Malfoy wouldn't ask his ex-girlfriend who disappeared years ago to marry him. If they were, he would have done something to win her back; he would have worked hard to have her again. If they were...

-no they just weren't and that was the whole point.

That was the exact, whole damned point.

"...and Granger are going to stay preferably 5 tables away -and that will be the closest- from Malfoy and the informant to avoid suspicions of mistrust. The informant might back out if he finds out he is being watched by 10 members of the OTP and might try to do harm on Mister Malfoy. Do you agree with this Miss Granger?" Hermione's mind was pulled back to the meeting when she heard her name and Shacklebolt's voice. She looked up and found eyes staring at her. She transferred her gaze to Shacklebolt and found him looking at her expectantly.

"Huh?" was all she could utter stupidly. She blinked couple of times and swallowed.

The other members present looked at each other in confusion and Shacklebolt only creased his forehead. "Are you alright, Miss Granger?"

"Yeah..." she nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'm alright. I was just...uhm, thinking. Sorry but may I beg your pardon?" she asked politely.

Shacklebolt sighed and patiently repeated what he said. "I am suggesting that you and Charlie, here, stay 5 tables away from Malfoy and the informant. You know, to jump in Mr. Malfoy's aid incase he needed it. The others are going to stay a little farther. Of course, we need to keep our distance to avoid drawing the informant's attention. He might turn away and our chance to catch the remaining Death Eaters will slip right in front our faces and then we'll right then go back to phase 1. If that's okay with you. Do you have any other helpful suggestions?" Shacklebolt asked hopefully.

"Oh." Hermione said. She immediately shook her head. "I'm fine with it. 5 tables away, got it. And no, I don't have better ideas. Let's just make our disguise good."

Shacklebolt nodded, "Right. So, are we all set?"

All heads nodded.

"Very good."

A knock outside had all the heads snapping on the door's direction. Shacklebolt told whoever was behind the door to come in. The door slowly opened and a waitress came. She was startled upon seeing all eyes on her and she shakenly entered the room.

"Z-Zarah told m-me to come and g-g-get your orders...B-B-But if you are in the m-middle of a d-discussion, I can come b-back later." the poor black haired girl stammered.

"No, we're actually done. Your timing is just excellent." Shacklebolt informed her. She visibly sighed in relief and composed herself. She stood straight and walked towards the table.

The members each took a menu card and started reading. Hermione creased her forehead when she noticed discomfort on Malfoy's face.

"Hey excuse me," he called for the waitress. The girl immediately came to his service, prepared her pocket notebook and quill and looked at Malfoy intently. "No, no. I'm just going to ask where the nearest bathroom is. I just feel the need to...piss out something."

"Oh." the girl blushed and giggled quietly. She looked at Malfoy and blushed even more when Malfoy's hood fell on his shoulder, revealing his face and head. "Uh...l-last door on the left." she stammered again.

Malfoy nodded and stood, "Thanks."

The girl nodded shyly. What was with Malfoy and his hood falling...and girls blushing if not jumping him?

"Hey, Draco, where are you going?" Harry asked, noticing the man leaving.

"Loo..." he answered simply. "Why Potter, want to come? I never took you as the kind." he smirked playfully at Harry.

Harry grimaced, "Fuck you, Draco." Malfoy scoffed at that. "Go and do your thing. Would you want us to get something for you?"

"Yeah, sure. Anything." and he fled the room in a hurry.

Harry looked at the menu card and frowned thoughtfully, finding anything he could order for Draco and himself.

"I'd get one serving of chicken salad and grape juice." Harry said. He continued reading the menu and rubbed his chin in concentration as the waitress started listing the other member's orders too. Hermione noticed Harry's furrowed brows but before she could clear her throat to get his attention, he looked up from the menu card and looked at everyone helplessly.

"Hey, do you know what Malfoy might want to get?" he asked. "I couldn't quite decide what to order for him. He said anything, but I don't think he'll be happy if I get him something he barely likes."

Everyone paused and looked at Harry.

"So, any suggestions?" he shrugged questioningly.

Heads started shaking, murmuring something like 'I don't have idea what he likes' and 'He's too picky and choosy and he don't agree with my diet' and 'He's got really weird taste' and 'I know what to order to upset his stomach, though' and such...

Hermione finally cleared her throat earning her all 8 OTP member's attentions.

"I think maybe -just MAYBE- he would like blueberry tart." she said in a rush. Blush immediately crept in her face and she looked down to hide it. "I thought he might like something not so sweet on a fine weather. Just a suggestion..." she shrugged.

"Okay, blueberry tart sounds like his type." Harry agreed. "And the beverage?"

Hermione swallowed and instantly snapped her head at Harry, forgetting her blush. "Vanilla with a hint of caramel." She said with certainty. "He likes that with his blueberry tart or if not, cappucino is second best. People usually preferred it if their beverage is something...somewhat opposite to the food they are eating. But don't take Malfoy as one of those 'people'. He's got this very weird taste, really. If his food's something sweet, then so will be his beverage. If it's bitter, then his beverage MUST be the same. You know, if his meal isn't in its natural course, he'd go ballistic. He'd-why are you all staring at me like that?"

The whole table -including the waitress- fell into silence. They gaped at her as she ranted. Suddenly, Hermione realized what she had just said and once again, blood started rising up to her face. She stopped breathing and looked down, embarrassed.

"'Mione...j-just how the hell did you know about those things?" Ron asked her slowly.

"Yeah..." Harry agreed, stretching the syllable in an awkward manner.

"Uh...well...I-It's just...-" she cleared her throat. Just how the FUCK would she get out of that situation? She cursed inside her head. She shouldn't have just talked. She should have just let them pick anything for the damned git. Even if he wouldn't like it, as long as she would not be trapped in the situation where she was trapped right at that moment. "-L-Lucky guess...yeah, it's only a lucky guess..."

"Hmmm..." Charlie nodded slowly.

"Lucky guess? With all that information?" A member exclaimed. He received a glare from Hermione and he hastily added, "Well, yeah, might be a VERY, VERY lucky guess then..."

"You know what, just forget what I said." Hermione said. "I only got that through observations. I won't really trust myself, though. Maybe my observations are wrong." she tried convincing them.

She really would be fucked if they didn't.

But they all nodded...to her utter shock and relief.

"Well, we all know how observant you are. Yeah, let's get what you suggested. Blueberry tart and vanilla drink with a hint of caramel for Malfoy."

The waitress immediately went out of the room bringing the orders seconds before Malfoy went back to the room, now bringing a piece of white paper.

"Malfoy, how many tons of shit did you have to let out? It took you so long." Ron teased.

"I got an owl." He said, raising the paper to confirm. He walked back to his chair and plopped himself down.

"From who? If you don't mind me asking?" Charlie shrugged.

"From Pansy..." he paused.

Hermione's personal clock stopped ticking at that much to her dislike.

"Oh, a letter from dear girlfriend..." Bill teased. "If George and Fred were here, they'd be mocking you about it."

"She's not my girlfriend..." Malfoy muttered.

Hermione looked at him, surprised, and somewhat her spirit soared at his statement.

"She's my fiancee." he corrected.

And Hermione fell back down rather...hardly.

"Right. You're rubbing that to our faces now, eh? That you're the handsome guy, the loving boyfriend, the perfect husband-to-be... that you found Miss Right already." Ron sneered but not offensively.

Malfoy scoffed and his gaze fell on Hermione. Hermione tried hard not to keep his stare but she found herself trapped in his meaningful, grey eyes.

"Right...hope she doesn't drive me away...this time." Malfoy whispered, not leaving Hermione's eyes.

Luckily, they were interrupted by the arrival of the waitress, levitating the food they ordered. One-by-one, the food were served to them. Somehow, it eased the kind of tensed surrounding around the room. (Tensed according to Hermione)

"Wooooh, yumyum..." Ron excitedly picked his fork and started attacking his cake.

When Malfoy's food was served to him, he couldn't help but widen his eyes. "Potter, blueberry and vanilla drink?" he turned to Harry incredulously.

"Why? You don't like it?"

"Oh 'like'? I love this food! The combination is grand. Something not so sweet plus something smooth like vanilla. And by the looks of it, maybe it has hint of caramel?" He glanced hopefully at the waitress who nodded shyly at him. Malfoy then took his fork and started stabbing his blueberry tart. "I'd say thanks for this, Potter."

"It's actually Hermione who suggested this food for you." he said, not raising his head from his plate. Nobody noticed the horror in Hermione's face at Harry's admission. "She kind of observed you like the partnering...so uh, she actually deserved your 'thanks', not me." Harry muttered before stuffing a spoonful of salad in his mouth.

Malfoy looked at Hermione in surprise. Hermione, on the other hand, tried her best to avoid his scrutinizing eyes.

"Well..." Malfoy started. "Granger, thanks for being such a keen 'observer' to know the perfect food I very well love. Thank you very much." he said meaningfully, almost sounding sarcastic.

And Hermione was only able to nod stiffly, knowing it was the best thing she could do.

She knew what Malfoy was thinking. That he won that round. That he could finally prove she was pretending. Shit, she should practice zipping her mouth especially at situations where he was involved.

Of course, who was she joking? Keen observer her ass. She knew what he liked and what he did not... Because she bloody CARED, not OBSERVED.

She saw him...all of him through her HEART, not her EYES.

Before eating her food up, she made a mental note to start closing her eyes to him.

Probably, she would easily be able to shut her heart completely, too.

Shut it the way she so claimed it.

**A/N: okay, let's stop right there. It was a bloody long chapter. :D Well, I know most of you are still confused as to why they (Malfoy and Granger) broke up. Don't worry. Please be patient. That information has to be present in the story. Just...hold on. It will appear eventually. When? I can't really say. But soon. Before the story ends. Thanks for reading again!**


	6. Disguise

**10 DAYS TO FIGHT FOR HIM, 10 MINUTES TO LOSE HIM**

**A/N: Here's the next chapter. Thanks for the little but very nice reviews. :D I appreciate them all.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP.**

**CHAPTER SIX: DISGUISE**

_"If I traded it all..._  
_If I gave it all away for one thing..._  
_Just for one thing..."_

**-flashback-**

Hermione and Draco went inside the restaurant called 'Hear-O-Heart' at the far end of Diagon Alley, hand-in-hand. They just came from a successful mission and they decided to do a little detour to spend time with each other. They wore black robes (not the official Order of the Phoenix robe) and different faces. By 'different faces', meant borrowed muggle appearances with the help of the legendary Polyjuice potion. Nobody, not a single soul, in the Order knew about their relationship. They had to sneak out just to be alone together. It was hard, they both admitted, but it was better than not have a chance to show how much they loved each other at all.

They chose a seat beside the glass, to have a clear view outside -just in case someone familiar came. Malfoy, being the gentleman he was, offered his 2-month long girlfriend to help her sit. He pulled the chair open and guided Hermione to sit down. Hermione almost rolled her eyes at the action, hadn't it went straight to her heart. As soon as Hermione was comfortably seated, he pushed the chair closer to the table before occupying the chair across her. He reached for her hand and caressed the back of it with his thumb. Hermione couldn't help but blush at the way he stared at her -like she was the most valuable object his grey eyes had ever laid eyes on all his life- and hated the way she acted like a teenage girl on her first date.

But what else could she do when she fell prey to a very beautiful predator?

She was admittedly very much smitten to the man across him.

Oh wait no, wrong. She was not just smitten.

The term would most likely be 'in love' to him.

She felt like giggling again. God, the things he had done to her.

A waitress came to them moments later. Hermione and Draco took the menu cards and they both started reading it. However, not 5 seconds after taking the menu, Draco dropped it with a heavy sigh. Hermione looked at him from her card and creased her forehead. "Draco? What's wrong?"

He shook his head dramatically, "There are literally too many food to choose from. Just a glance from that menu card, I'm having a headache already." he looked at Hermione and flashed her an all-front-teeth-shown grin. "Why don't you just pick stuffs for me?"

"Me? But-"

"Please?" *insert the Malfoy puppy eyes*

Hermione sighed again, "What did I say about that 'look'?" she reminded him but sighed again, in defeat. "Okay fine, I'll see what I can do." she read the menu card again and brought all her focus to it.

"Hmmm..." she murmured as she thoughtfully studied the list of food. Malfoy just contentedly stared at her, admiring her 'focused' mode.

"Bitter gourd and Celery delight and a cup of steaming milk chocolate for me..." she told the waitress who immediately scribbled her order.

"What the fuck is bitter gourd and celery delight? It sounds nasty..." Malfoy grimaced.

Hermione looked at him again with narrowed eyes. "It's a salad dish." she explained, a bit affronted at the disgust in his face. "A dish full of bitter gourd mixed with celery." she told him matter-of-factly.

Malfoy made gagging sound before facing her again, "It actually sounds awful now. Bitter gourd with celery? I'd rather starve, you know, than endure those. And you ordered milk chocolate drink with it? I'm not trusting you with my food anymore."

"What's wrong with it? It's delicious, I swear!" she snapped defensively. "Just a bit bitter... but that's the main point why I'm pairing it with something sweet such as the milk chocolate. It's a meal combined in bitter and sweet. Contrasting but a perfect combination, right?"

Malfoy shook his head at her in his 'oh-you-are-very-wrong' manner. "Dear, yes, opposite do attracts. But that shouldn't be taken in a plate!" he declared, throwing his hands in the air. "You know, if you want to go on with that bitter gourd whatever delight dish, pair it with a steaming cup of pure chocolate or dark chocolate."

"Dark chocolate? Isn't that bitter also? My whole meal will be bitter-bitter!" she exclaimed incredulously.

"Exactly the point, love." Draco nodded, rolling his eyes. "Ever heard of the word 'consistency'?" he mocked.

She narrowed her eyes and creased her forehead all the more, "What's that got to do with this?"

Malfoy shook his head sympathetically and sighed. "Pity..." he murmured. "Honey, be consistent on what you choose. If you started the meal with something sour, end it with the same flavor as well. Do not go take another turn and jump on the wall totally on the other side."

She gaped at him for a while before finding the words to reply. "You want it like that?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Okay..." she nodded back. "But I'm keeping my order. I don't think I can stomach everything bitter."

He shrugged. "Fine with me...But I'm sticking with being consistent."

They stared at each other a little while before Hermione busied herself choosing food for Draco. This time, she had to be careful and choose food with the same genre. She couldn't help but sigh again. Draco was truthfully the most unique and most complicated (and weird) person she'd ever met.

"How does a treacle tart sound?" she asked, not raising her head.

"Okay, but not fine." came Draco's simple reply.

Hermione had to send him a glare before returning back to business. Picking food for her boyfriend was rather harder and more challenging than flirting with him on public. She scanned another part of the menu.

"Fish fillet?" (main course)

"Nope."

"Chicken curry?"

"Nothing positive on that."

"What? But it's yumm- ugh! Fine... how about waffle?" (Breakfast section)

"Hardly satisfying." he commented dryly.

"Pancakes?"

"Seriously? We're not having a breakfast date, _are we_?" he drawled sarcastically.

"Okay, okay...Hmmm...how about -oh this! Suffle and muffin plate." (desserts)

"Too sugary..."

"What do you want, honestly?" she breathed out impatiently, almost wanting to give up.

"A tart sounds perfect at the moment. What with the weather? I like tart on fair and fine weathers. But not treacle..." he added when Hermione opened her mouth to retort.

Hermione groaned in frustration again. Her eyes roamed at the many food on the list and finally, her eyes landed on the best possible choice. "How about blueberry tart?"

"Just the thing. Excellent." he brightened up.

"Oh, thank all the saints I finally spotted the G-spot!" Hermione muttered sarcastically. She flipped the menu card and started picking out the beverage to pair with his tart. "How does cappuccino sound?" she asked, looking at him hopefully.

His forehead creased. He considered it for a moment, crossing his arms and then, "Nah," he dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Cappuccino's 25% away from the best choice."

Hermione rolled her eyes again at her silly boyfriend. They were seriously going to spend more time selecting the food than the actual eating.

"How about Vanilla? With a hint of caramel?" Hermione suggested halfheartedly. She was expecting another rejection but was completely astonished when Draco's face brightened up, yet again.

"Perfect," he grinned.

The waitress who seemed very amused at the weird couple went away after writing down the orders. When she left, Hermione slouched in the seat. She almost drained her energy choosing a meal for the blonde git. Draco, however, was only grinning like mad at her.

Not more than 5 minutes later, the waitress came back with their orders and they started eating them away. They had few, hushed conversations throughout the meal, careful not to slip any information that would give away their identities. Draco told her stories, Hermione laughed at them. He told her sappy and corny stuffs, she blushed at them...but out of the hundreds of sentences and paragraphs Draco had told Hermione that day, there was this most memorable one.

"Thanks for getting me the best meal, Hermione..." Draco suddenly whispered. Hermione looked up from her plate, surprised. Draco leaned in closer and smiled genuinely. "And thank you for being here with me. I thank all the gods for making true love inconsistent. If so, you wouldn't have been mine. I thank the bloke who thought of the concept of 'Opposite Attracts'. If not because of him, you wouldn't have been brought to me. And then my life would be meaningless... because you are my walking-talking encyclopedia. My life would be consumed in darkness, because you happen to be my four-limbed lightbulb. My life would be full of stupidity, because you are my bushy-haired, intelligent, thinking brain. And finally, my life would be void of love, because you are the human form of my beating heart." he grinned sheepishly and he finally closed their remaining distance with a sweet, loving kiss on the tip of Hermione's nose.

The action was enough to bring tears in her eyes.

She never, ever, imagined tearing up because of some very sappy words.

Only Draco could successfully do that to her.

_-end of flashback-_

1:58 p.m ~ Knockturn Alley

They stopped in a dark alley near their destination, the Gates to Hades' Kingdom. They decided to enter the pub in groups and pairs. Draco would go in second to the last before the pair of Charlie and Hermione who were, as planned, to stay 5 tables away from Malfoy and the informant.

They wore different faces and clothes now, making them barely recognizable. Shacklebolt, Garvas and Bill Weasley were disguised as three old drunken wizards, all with long, black with several white strands beard and all equally bald. Ron and the unbelievably quiet Seamus were disguised as sickly, adolescent wizards both with boils on their faces. Ron tried to complain but Shacklebolt just gave him the 'you-can't-get-away-anymore-so-shut-up' look. Dean was disguised as a hunchback wizard who was accompanied by Harry disguised as his young grandkid who was supposed to have this big wound in the face with buckets of pus streaming from it. It looked and smelled gross but once again, even the boy wonder couldn't get away from Shacklebolt's evil ideas. Charlie and Hermione were disguised as two young couples; Charlie with this extremely long, shaggy hair that stopped until his waist and apparently had a face covered with thick and sharp beard. Hermione, on the other hand, had to carry an overlarge bump in her stomach because she was supposed to be a nine-month pregnant witch with crooked nose and ugly eyebrows. Of all, only Malfoy was left untouched.

He snickered each time one of them transformed into their disguises. He almost died of laughter when Harry accidentally touched the fake but still smelly pus on his wound and Harry made gagging sounds, complaining about his stomach suddenly rising to his esophagus. According to him, all of them looked ridiculous, even Shacklebolt himself who decided for their disguises.

"At least, he doesn't have hundreds of boils in his face!" Ron exclaimed, gesturing at his boils.

"Well at least there's nothing gooey and smelly coming out from it!" Harry countered, hissing at him.

"At least you don't have a huge bump on your back! It's not very good, bending like this, you know!" Dean argued.

"Well, Dean, talking of bumps, I do believe we are on the same plane. Look at this big ball in my stomach! I look more than ridiculous!" Hermione complained.

"Shut up, all of you. The least we can do is act properly. We don't want Malfoy to be endangered just because some of you don't agree with your disguises." Shacklebolt snapped impatiently.

They all hushed like kids who were scolded by their mother. It was amusing, in Malfoy's opinion.

"So," Shacklebolt started again. "First to go will be Weasley and Finnegan. Then I will follow with Bill Weasley and Garvas. Next will be you, Potter, and Thomas. Then you will finally go inside Malfoy and later followed by Charlie Weasley and Granger."

They nodded.

"Okay. Be careful, all of you. Especially you, Malfoy." Shacklebolt said with a light tap on his shoulder.

Malfoy nodded.

Ron and Seamus made their way in the pub. 3 minutes later, Shacklebolt, Garvas and Bill followed. Another couple of minutes passed and Harry and Dean went in. Finally it was Malfoy's turn. He would meet this informant who would solve their mission. At last, they were going to finish all remaining Death Eaters. It would finally be safe.

Malfoy heaved a deep breath and exhaled through his mouth. He gathered himself with determination and just when he started to take a step towards the pub, he felt a warm, delicate hand holding his wrist. He didn't turn around, he knew from whom that little hand belonged.

"Malfoy..." Hermione hesitantly whispered.

He stayed silent. He did not say anything, just waited for her to continue talking and let go of his wrist. He heard a sigh from her and finally, she spoke again. "Just be careful..."

Malfoy nodded, still his back facing her.

Slowly, her grip loosened until he was finally freed. Without another word, Malfoy walked away and entered the pub.

When he opened the creaking door, he immediately looked around and spotted his co-members seated in different tables, acting.

He took a deep breath and closed the door. He looked around, trying to find the informant. Everyone looked the same (except for the OTP members, who, even under their disguises, still looked much decent and cleaner than the other wizards and witches in the old and smelly pub). He didn't know how the informant looked like. He hardly even knew his gender, whether he be a wizard or a witch, he had no idea.

'The informant couldn't have left,' Malfoy thought. 'He said he would wait until 3:00. It's only 2:14.' he noted as he glanced at his magical wrist watch. Hermione bugged him into wearing one... when they were still 'in love', that was. Said he would need it someday, and she was right. Well, she was almost always right. He shook his head to rid his mind of the thoughts about his ex-girlfriend. It was not the right time to be thinking about her and their past. He was on a mission and if he wouldn't be careful, he'd be a dead meat.

"Ahhh, the gorgeous Mr. Malfoy!"

Malfoy snapped his head to the direction of the greeting. His gaze landed on the table in the center. He studied the witch sitting on the table, gesturing for him to come and take the seat on her opposite side. He wondered if she was the informant. Nothing looked so 'DARK' about her. She looked quite...innocent than most of the people in the pub.

But, nevertheless, he walked forward and stopped on her table. She beamed at him and he couldn't help but grimace inwardly. She looked like the least ugly person there, but still ugly, nonetheless. Her head was a field of white hairs and was covered with a black, pointy witch hat. Her face, although stretched into a smile, was still rather scary. Black spots were adorning his face and little and few boils were also taking residency there. Her nose was long and pointy and crooked (much crooked than that of Hermione's disguise). Her jaw was also pointy, very pointy it could probably slice a watermelon into half. Her ears were very small, it was hardly visible under her hat and wave of frizzy hair. Her eyes were hollow. Her skin was wrinkled. She smelled rotten. Her teeth were broken and she almost lost all her front teeth and the few left had blacks on it. He could continue the list if he had more time, actually.

"Mr. Malfoy... we've seen each other again." the witch said. "It's been years. You don't remember me, I presume?"

Malfoy shook his head and took his seat. "Are you the informant?" he asked, wanting to go to business already.

The witch smiled, rather unattractively. "Now, now, Mr. Malfoy. No need to rush out." she replied. "I've been really dying to speak to you."

Malfoy creased his forehead, "Been dying to speak to me? Why?"

"You might not know," she whispered. "But I was responsible for that curse you are suffering from."

"Curse? What curse?"

The witch smiled, "You know what I am talking about, Mr. Malfoy." she answered. "What I want to say is that, I am sorry I tied your future like that. Your father and his friend wanted to secure the bloodline, so therefore, you were bounded to another soul even before you were born."

Malfoy, then, understood what she was talking about.

"I am so sorry, Mr. Malfoy. I didn't want to decide for you, but I was threatened. I valued my life, then, and so I followed their bidding." she sighed sadly. "I never had the chance to apologize. And so I found ways just to speak to you."

"You made the curse? Does that mean, you know how to break it?" he asked hopefully.

The witch looked at him apologetically. "I do."

"Really? How, then?"

"Love, Mr. Malfoy." she answered simply.

"Love?" he echoed. "What do you mean, 'love'?"

"I cannot tell you any more than that." she told him. "About the Death Eaters you are seeking-"

"No, wait, please tell me how to break it-"

But she didn't listent to him. "They are all living in the last place you will think you may find them. In the Muggle World. I am working as a servant to Mr. Nott but I do know the location of the other four. They frequently contact each other, checking if any of them had been caught. I was expecting them to mind their own business, but I guess, in threats like this, when their life and death depends on it, they had to stay in touch with each other. Mr. Nott is living in a dusty flat in downtown London. The apartment name is 'Sunrise Buildings'. He's on the 5th floor. Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle, the bestfriends they always were, stays in an inn connected to an old Muggle bar. The bar's name is 'Fauna'. They are on room 45 on the 3rd floor. Mr. Rowle stays in an abandoned house still in downtown London. Number 25 Adeniners Place. And finally, Mrs. Zabini stays in a gay bar. On the 4th floor, room no. 78. The gay bar's name is 'Prima Donna'. I am hoping you and the Order of the Phoenix will succeed in capturing them. I am sure, after this, I will not be seeing you again. I will be dead, by then. Either I'll be killed by the Death Eaters I betrayed or through suicide. I haven't decided yet. But it was nice meeting you, Mr. Malfoy." she finished with a smile.

Malfoy gaped at her. He tried to remember all the information she said but found himself struggling against it. Well, that was when a pensieve came handy, in times like this.

The witch stood up, getting ready to leave. "I will be leaving you, Mr. Malfoy. And it will be a permanent goodbye."

"Wait," he said, stopping her. "Tell me how to break the spell." he begged desperately.

The witch only smiled at her. "Action speaks louder than words." she started. "But words...can do the magic trick." she whispered.

Malfoy frowned in confusion. What was this witch saying? How was he to know what that meant if she wouldn't elaborate? "Care to explain?"

With a final (scary) broken smile at him, the witch rushed out of the pub. Malfoy ran after her, wanting her to expound. "Wait!"

But as soon as he stepped out of the pub, the last thing he heard was a loud 'pop', indicating her apparition. The witch was gone.

Gone forever.

_TBC..._

**A/N: that's chapter six. :D If it complicated you, sorry. Everything will be explained soon in the next chapters. This is still not the end of day 2. I know it's rather long, but what can I do? The lyrics above is from the song 'One Thing' by Finger Eleven.**


End file.
